Headlifts are well known components or features of disk drive head suspensions. Briefly, in some applications the headlift is used only during manufacturing operations to merge the suspension into place with respect to the disk. In other applications, the headlift is engaged and used by other structures of the disk drive during its operation to load the suspension onto and unload the suspension from the spinning disk. Headlifts and related structures are disclosed, for example, in Japanese patent document no. 2,000,011,571, South Korean patent document no. 98,004,812 and in the following U.S. patent documents.
InventorU.S. Pat. No.Wolter5,291,359Yaeger5,463,514Shimizu5,526,206Mangold et al.6,157,520Mei6,239,953Sampietro et al.6,362,933Ray et al.6,463,514Hadian et al.6,538,850
There remains a continuing need for improved headlift structures for disk drive suspensions. In particular, there is a need for headlifts that are stiff, but provide little, if any, detrimental impact on the resonance characteristics of the suspension. To be commercially viable, any such headlift should be capable of being efficiently manufactured.